Gough v. Illinois Cent. R. Co.

• Court: Kentucky Court of Appeals
• Writing for the Court: HURT, J.
• Citation: Gough v. Illinois Cent. R. Co., 179 S.W. 449, 166 Ky. 568 (Ky. Ct. App. 1915)
• Decision Date: 05 November 1915
• Parties: GOUGH v. ILLINOIS CENT. R. CO.

179 S.W. 449

166 Ky. 568

GOUGH v. ILLINOIS CENT. R. CO.

Court of Appeals of Kentucky.

November 5, 1915

Appeal from Circuit Court, Graves County.

Action between Minnie C. Gough and the Illinois Central Railroad Company. From a judgment for the latter, the former appeals. Appeal dismissed.

W. J Webb, of Mayfield, for appellant.

Gus Thomas and Robbins & Robbins, all of Mayfield, and Trabue Doolan & Cox, of Louisville, for appellee.

HURT J.

The appeal in this case was granted on the 3d day of December 1914. The law in force at the time an appeal is granted controls the right of appeal. Hale v. Grogan, 106 Ky. 311, 50 S.W. 257, 20 Ky. Law Rep. 1857. The right of appeal is a privilege and can be given, taken away, or restricted by the legislative authority.

Section 950, subsection 1, Ky. Statutes, provides among other things:

"But no appeal shall be taken to the Court of Appeals as a matter of right from a judgment for the recovery of money or personal property, or any interest therein, or to enforce any lien thereon, if the value in controversy be less than five hundred dollars, exclusive of interest and costs."

The section, supra, further provides that the Court of Appeals may grant an appeal when it is satisfied from an examination of the record that the ends of justice require that the judgment appealed from should be reversed, if the value of the amount or thing in controversy, exclusive of interest and cost, is as much as $200, or when the construction or the validity of a statute or the construction of a section of the Constitution is necessarily and directly put in issue, and a correct decision of the case cannot be had without passing on the validity of the statute or construing the section of the Constitution, or statute involved.

Subsection 3 of section 950, supra, regulates the manner in which this court may grant an appeal when the amount in controversy is as much as $200 and less than $500. It further provides, in reference to when the amount in controversy is as much as $200 and less than $500:

"If the court decides, after an examination of the record, that the appeal should not be granted, the motion shall be overruled without a written opinion."

This has reference to the motion for an appeal in this court, as provided by said subsection 3, supra, and rule 20 of the court.

Under a former statute, which fixed the minimum sum at $200, from a judgment either for granting or refusing a recovery, an appeal could be taken, it was held by this court that, either in the case of an appeal being granted by the court, which rendered the judgment from which the appeal was taken, or where granted by the clerk of this court, that if the record demonstrated conclusively, that the amount in controversy was, in fact, less than $200, the appeal would be dismissed upon or without motion. Thomas v. Thomas, 162 Ky 630, 172 S.W. 1054; Louisville Property Co. v. Whitley County Stave Co., 163 Ky. 336, 173 S.W. 783; ...